KENYA – French retail chain Carrefour has recorded a 28 percent jump in sales to Ksh18.7 billion (US$175.9m) for the year ended December 2019 from its Kenyan outlets, an increase from Ksh14.6 billion (US$137.3m) recorded in 2018.
Majid Al Futtaim, the exclusive holder of Carrefour’s franchise in the region attributes the rise in sales from its aggressive expansion bid across major towns in the country.
The retailer said since launching in Kenya four years ago, the franchise of the French hypermarket chain had grown faster than expected; attracting a strong clientele base among the country’s expanding middle class.
The retailer has been expanding its presence in Kenya taking over spaces previously occupied by struggling supermarket chains, including Nakumatt and Uchumi, as well as opening new outlets to cash in on the underserved market.
It has seven branches in Kenya with the eighth one set to open on Uhuru Highway near Nyayo roundabout. It was scheduled to be opened before the end of March but has been delayed due to the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Having operations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, the franchise holder has announced further plans to continue the expansion of its retail and entertainment business across key markets.
“In 2020, Majid Al Futtaim Retail will open its first store in Uzbekistan, with plans for further expansion to new markets in Central Asia and Africa and scale up its e-commerce capacity to meet growing online demand, through innovative fulfilment solutions,” the group said in the report.
Beginning of this year MAF officially opened its first hypermarket store in Uganda at the Oasis shopping mall, Kampala.
Being the second East African country to launch its operation, the store covers 2800 m² area, housing more than 20,000 local and international branded products.
On the newly-released financial report, Majid Al Futtaim has also made public its Kenya’s local assets as of December 2019 to be Sh7.2 billion (US$67.7m), up from Sh4.3 billion (US$40.4m) recorded in December 2018.
